Everyone relaxed as Rosalie announced that the grand duke’s carriage was completely out of sight. Even Bella breathed properly for a short while and then—
Slap! With a sharp sound, Bella’s body fell to the ground. It was Martha. Bella looked up blankly, holding her swollen cheek. Physical punishment for Bella wasn’t uncommon, but it was so sudden that Rosalie and Ethan were a little surprised.
“What’s wrong, mother?”
“Was it because of that brooch?”
Ethan and Rosalie asked in quick succession, but Martha just looked down at Bella silently and then gestured toward her maid, Emma, who was standing nearby. Emma walked over and dragged Bella to her feet.
“You know what you did wrong,” Martha said, waving away the hand that had slapped Bella’s cheek and stretching.
“Mother, are you okay?” asked Rosalie, concerned for Martha’s hand. Bella had been slapped so hard that her right ear had become numb, and she could barely hear Martha’s words.
“Don’t you know what you did wrong?” Martha asked once more, glaring at Bella.
With the same honed eyes glaring since childhood, Bella understood Martha’s words.
“I-I do know.”
“Is that so? Then tell me.” Martha’s tone was uncharacteristically elegant.
Bella lowered the hand that had been cupping her cheek and clasped her hands politely.
“Rosalie’s brooch…”
Slap!! Martha’s hand struck Bella once more. She staggered, but Emma’s grip on her was so firm that she didn’t even fall. If she did, she could at least rest for a moment.
“Say it again.”
“I left the parlor without prior arrangement and did not return for a long time—”
Slap!!! Bella had almost lost sensation in her cheek by now; it was throbbing and already puffy.
“Again.” Martha was becoming less and less civilized. Ethan glanced at the surrounding servants, except for Emma.
“. . .”
“Won’t you speak again?”
“. . .”
“Can’t you hear me?” Martha asked sharply, grabbing Bella’s chin. Bella’s lips remained closed, and Martha slapped her cheek again.
Slap!!!! This time, Emma didn’t catch her. Bella’s body sank to the floor.
“You were clearly barefoot when you first greeted His Highness, then you disappeared, and when you returned, you had shoes on your feet. Something happened with the grand duke, didn’t it?”
Rosalie’s eyes grew especially wide at Martha’s words. Her cheeks, which had been flushed with love, were now colored with jealousy and anger.
“What did you say, mother?” Rosalie asked in a trembling voice, and Ethan smiled as if he had a good show on his hands.
“You tell me, Bell. Tell me where those shoes on your feet came from.”
Emma flicked up the hem of Bella’s skirt. The beige shoes Jenos had given her were revealed for all to see. Bella was too stunned to say anything. Rosalie stepped forward and slapped her across the cheek, unable to hold back. Bella’s head dropped to the floor.
“You insane b*tch, how dare you speak to His Highness in private?!”
“It’s not-it’s nothing like that; it’s just that he happened to see me in trouble, and out of pity, he helped me as a favor—”
“Of course His Highness did! Then you should have refused it! Isn’t that right? Oh, yeah, I see it now! You didn’t even wear your shoes on purpose; you must have planned for this, you cunning wench!”
Rosalie cursed and reached for Bella’s hair, but Ethan grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.
“What are you doing? Get off me!”
“There are plenty of ears to hear, and we don’t need to see blood here; there’s a place made for this kind of thing,” Ethan said, glancing back at Bella. Goosebumps broke out all over her body.
* * *
In the center of the dungeon, Bella sat on her knees. She was back in her skimpy dress and bare feet.
Martha and Rosalie sat stiffly in chairs off to one side of the cell, and Ethan stood beside them. In front of Bella stood Emma and Gina. Of all the maids, they were the ones who enjoyed these ‘dirty jobs’ the most. They hated the basement, but they were always the first to come forward when it came to dirty work. ‘Perhaps they came here today of their own accord,’ Bella thought.
“Shouldn’t you be punished for daring to speak to the grand duke out of our sight?” Martha said.
“Of course,” said Rosalie, “she should be half killed, and by the time of my wedding, she would have barely recovered enough to show her face. She doesn’t have to go to the upcoming royal ball, either; it’s enough to come up with the excuse that she’s sick or something.”
After finishing speaking, she nodded toward Emma and Gina. And the physical punishment began.
Whack— Smack—!
“Ugh…!” Bella gritted her teeth and stifled a scream. The only thing she knew was that screaming made the punishment worse, as she learned the first day she’d been adopted into this damn family.
“Stop,” Martha said.
Emma and Gina stepped back, sweating profusely. Bella clenched her teeth, tears streaming down her face.
“No matter what happens, don’t you ever do such an ill-mannered and shameless thing again. Do you understand?”
“…Yes, mother.” Bella barely managed to reply through ragged breaths.
Martha lowered her gaze, studying her countenance for the sincerity of her response, then pulled herself up, not wanting to see any further of the distorted face in pain.
“Let’s go upstairs.” Martha took the first step, and Rosalie followed.
“If anything like this ever happens again, I’m going to marry you off to someone even more violent and ugly than a crazy widower. Keep that in mind.” Rosalie spat the words out with a wide grin and disappeared up the stairs.
As Emma and Gina took a few steps back, waiting for Ethan to go first, he pulled out a silver coin from his pocket and handed it to them.
“Go.”
“Pardon?” Emma asked, puzzled.
“I said go up.” Ethan held the silver closer. Gina took it, grabbed Emma’s, and dragged her upstairs. As they disappeared, Ethan spoke.
“I didn’t think I’d get a chance to do this for a while. I guess hope is the last thing you lose.” He gasped loudly. He threw his head back, already aroused. Bella bit her lip as she watched him.
Ethan had this eccentricity. Everyone in the manor knew about it, and it was no secret that Bella was sometimes a scapegoat for him.
“I know you’ve been through a lot today, so I’ll cut you some slack. Okay?”
“. . .”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Ethan chuckled and moved slowly. Step by step, the echoing sound through the dungeon made Bella’s body shrink. She slowly pushed herself up.
“El-elder brother.”
“Hm?” Ethan gave her a gentle smile.
“Today, just for today, can you forgive me a little, please?”
Ethan looked at Bella and laughed out loud. He squatted down in front of her and cupped her chin.
“Do I look compassionate to you?”
“. . .”
The corners of Ethan’s mouth tugged tighter, and his smile deepened.
Bella shoved Ethan’s body hard the moment she realized her life was in danger. He stumbled backward, and Bella ran up the stairs in a mad dash.
“You—!” Ethan quickly recovered himself and ran after her.
Bella scrambled up the stairs and quickly locked him up.
“Crazy wench, aren’t you going to open this?!” As Ethan pounded on the door in frustration, Bella ran toward the mansion’s gates. Soon, the maids would hear the screams and come running, trying to stop her escape.
Barefoot and frantic, she ran through the residence’s gates.
Martha had dismissed all the guards because of the grand duke’s visit, so she was able to run unimpeded through the manor.
* * *
The night was dark and quiet. It was the day of the witch’s birth, so not a single passerby was in sight.
Bella hid for a moment in a back alley far from the mansion. Her heart threatened to leap out of her mouth.
After a long pause, her whole body began to ache. Bella curled up, unable to make a sound. She felt like she was going to die.
Then it happened. A large hand rested on her shoulder. Bella yelped and turned around to see a drunken man smiling down at her.
“Hi?” The drunk was an old man with graying hair.
Bella panicked and slowly pushed herself up. Her whole body ached like it was going to break apart just from moving this much.
“It’ hard to make money on the streets, ain’t it?” The drunkard asked.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bella stumbled backward. She wanted to run away, but her body was too stiff to do so.
“Pretend ya’ don’ know? Anyway, why doncha do it with me today? It’ the Witch’ Day, so there won’be anyone else around but me anyway, mh?” The drunkard chuckled as he extended his hand toward Bella.
She instinctively slapped his hand away and shook her head.
“You must have misunderstood. I’m not a street girl.”
“Ya think I’mma fool? It’ hard for men and women to live, so they come out like ya. No need to be ashamed…”
“I-I’m not that kind of person!” Bella shouted. As her tone rose, the smile faded from the drunkard’s face.
“Why this b*tch’s so cheeky!” The drunkard’s hand slapped Bella’s cheek.
Bella fell to the floor again, as she had done so many times today, and her swollen cheeks burned more painfully.
“Ya don’ know what ya’re talkin’ ’bout!” The drunkard spat, climbing on top of her and strangling her. She gurgled and gripped his forearms, but nothing changed. Her vision narrowed to a blank.
“Ugh… Uhk!”
“Die, die, you filthy—!”
One sordid curse after another. The profanities of the drunkard’s outbursts pierced through Bella’s mind, and then the faces of Martha, Rosalie, Ethan, Gina, and Emma, and the scornful faces of all the maids and servants, filled her head.
Bad! Evil! Vicious! Dirty! Ugly! Worthless—! The contemptuous rhetoric they had spewed at her seemed to come to her like a hallucination.
‘Stop…’ Bella thought, feeling distressed. The pain of the faces filling her head was a billion times worse than the pain of being suffocated.
‘Stop… Please, go away… Go away!’
“Disappear!”
Suddenly, a bright red light like rose petals burst from Bella’s hand, and like a firecracker, it struck the drunkard in the face, blowing a hole in the center of his face. The man fell to the ground beside her, blood gushing from the hole in his face. Bella gasped in panic and shoved the drunkard away, pinning her back against the opposite wall as she stood up.
She shifted her gaze to her hand after staring at the blood flowing out for a long time, then back to the man’s corpse before shouting.
“…Finally!” Bella squealed, jumping up and down. “Finally, finally, my wish has finally come true!” Bella cheered, stomping her feet frantically. She felt like she had the world at her feet; her heart was beating with the heat of emotion. It didn’t even hurt anymore.
“I love it; I really-really love—”
“Miss Isabella?”
Halt—
Bella’s body, which had been dancing frantically, stopped. Her head slowly turned, and there…
“You-Your Highness, Grand Duke.”
Grand Duke Jenos Ferdian was standing.
